We all like to spend time outside when we can but when the weather gets a bit chillier, sometimes a thermal blanket won't do the trick and you need to huddle around a fire pit to keep the cold at bay. Now the problem with fire pits is it can all get a bit smoky, leading your hair and clothes to smell and sometimes requiring you to change seats so you're out of the way of the smoke. Enter, the Solo Stove Bonfire, a smokeless fire pit that you can even cook on, just like the gas or charcoal barbecue you wheel out every summer.
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Solo Stove Bonfire overview
Based in Texas, Solo Stove is a company which specialises in outdoor products including fire pits, camp stoves, pizza ovens and more. They are best known, however, for their range of lightweight and low smoke fire pits.
The Solo Stove Bonfire is their best-selling fire pit of the three models and sits right in the middle between their most portable fire pit, the Ranger and their largest, the Yukon.
Key features
Minimal smoke
The strategically placed holes in the double-wall structure draw in air from the bottom and feed the heated oxygen to the top, resulting in a secondary burn which means very little smoke and leftover ash to clean up.
Portable
Moving the Solo Stove Bonfire from the garage and into the garden is easy as it weighs just 9kg. You could also use the included carry case to ship it to enjoy out and about too.
Versatile
The Solo Stove can be used for so much more than just keeping you toasty. Enjoy dining alfresco with a range of accessories including the Cast-Iron Cooktop.
Testing the Solo Stove Bonfire
We were sent the Bonfire Cast Iron Griddle Cooking Bundle which included the Bonfire, the stand, the Bonfire hub, the removable Base Plate and Ash Pan and the Cast Iron Griddle.
Putting together the Solo Stove Bonfire took a matter of minutes and was a really smooth experience thanks to some simple and straightforward instructions. I really love the look of it, it's sleek and modern and would look good in pretty much any garden.
Using the Solo Stove Bonfire
I tested out the Solo Stove Bonfire over the course of a month. On some occasions, it was used simply as a fire pit, others we used it to cook food for friends and family.
We used our Bonfire on our wooden decking, something we could only do because we had the stand included in our bundle. This kept the surface below cool while protecting it from any damage.
Getting it going couldn't have been easier. While any wood can be used, Solo Stove recommend hardwoods as they will burn longer and hotter than softwoods. We used dry kindling and a fire starter to get started. This took just a few minutes for the fire to get going and to create an ember bed and then we started to add bigger pieces of wood. We were careful not to use too much wood or let it rest directly on the flame ring as this is what allows the airflow to create combustion. And that was it! From that point onwards, it was a case of sitting back to enjoy the warmth and very occasionally adding some more wood if we wanted to keep it going for longer.
Solo Stove doesn't shy away from the fact that there will be smoke to start with but once the fire got going, this quickly disappeared and we could crowd around and enjoy the warmth without the smell lingering on us.
Once we were finished using the Solo Stove Bonfire, we could simply walk away and leave it to burn out completely and cool before emptying out the ash.
Using the Cast Iron Griddle
Whenever we get the chance, we love to eat outdoors and being able to turn the Solo Stove Bonfire into a piece of cookware beyond s'mores really appealed to me.
Before using the griddle, we needed to 'season' it, a process that needs to be done for the first 8-10 times of cooking to ensure the non-stick quality fully develops. For this, after starting a small fire in the Bonfire, we used a rag to apply flaxseed oil to the surface of the griddle, wiping off any excess so there was just a light coating. We then placed it onto the Hub and let it cure for around 20 minutes, turning it 90 degrees so it was seasoned evenly.
This was pretty simple and the whole process took about half an hour, after which we were ready to get cooking! Given that we had invited family over for our first cooking experience on the Bonfire, we were very pleased that our sausages and bacon cooked perfectly (who wants to serve an undercooked sausage after all?). The non-stick was very effective and we could move the food around quickly and easily when we needed to. We even braved a few eggs which also cooked well.
Overall, cooking was a really enjoyable, somewhat primal experience and my husband especially liked that he could cook while still remaining part of the conversation as people were happily sat round the Bonfire, in general it felt so much more social. We are already eyeing up the Cast Iron Wok Top!
Final thoughts
The Solo Stove Bonfire has been a real joy to use in our garden and has been the perfect addition on those colder nights when we don't want to go inside just yet. We've had absolutely no issues in using either the fire pit itself or the griddle over our month of review and both have received admiring glances from friends and family who have also been able to experience it.
Although not entirely smoke-free, the difference in smoke compared to the average fire pit is undeniable and we all felt a lot more comfortable getting closer to the Bonfire than we would any other fire pit, especially as the smell didn't cling to our clothes and hair as it usually would and we weren't coughing or experiencing watery eyes as is common with smoky fires.
The Bonfire is on the whole, hard to fault, but the price may be an issue for many people. At the moment it's currently £219.99 which may feel steep to some but it's a high-quality, sophisticated product that is designed to last a lifetime, which to me makes it worth the investment. One of the things I personally love most about the Solo Stove is how versatile it is and how it can be used as so much more than 'just' a fire pit. But of course, buying these accessories will naturally increase how much you spend. In my opinion, these accessories such as the Cast Iron Griddle are well worth considering and are what takes the Solo Stove Bonfire beyond something that keeps you warm, creating a social experience to enjoy with loved ones in the great outdoors.
Full product specification
Weight: 9 kg
Diameter: 49.5cm
Height: 35.5cm
Materials: Stainless Steel